Ending Saturday delivery a good start for USPS

For years, the U.S. Postal Service has been in denial about the sharp ongoing decline in the use of first-class mail. The postal status quo has been demolished by the rise of email and online bill-paying, but the USPS resisted acknowledging this – even as the deficit-ridden agency was forced to default on legal requirements that it spend $11 billion in 2012 to prefund retirement benefits.

This week, reality appears to have finally sunk in. Postal officials announced they would end Saturday deliveries, except for packages, beginning in August, saving about $2 billion a year. This won praise from Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, who has led the push for postal reform. But, as Issa noted, it is only a good first step, and one that doesn’t come close to making the USPS break even.

We think Congress needs to revise onerous laws that effectively require public subsidies of certain categories of mail, including first-class stamps. Issa and other lawmakers have some intriguing ideas as well. Now that the USPS is finally ready for profound change, let’s have the full reform debate we’ve needed for years.